Description
Skydance Media, LLC (formerly known as Skydance Productions) is an American production company based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by David Ellison in 2006, the company entered a five-year partnership to co-produce and co-finance films with Paramount Pictures starting in 2009, and renewed the agreement twice extending to 2021. The company specializes in films, animation, television, video games, and sports.
History
Skydance Productions was formed in 2006 by David Ellison. The firm's first film was Flyboys in 2006; it starred Ellison and was co-financed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
In the fall of 2009, Skydance and Paramount Pictures signed a five-year co-financing, production and distribution agreement, with Paramount holding an additional option of distribution. Before August 2010, Skydance hired Dana Goldberg, formerly of Village Roadshow Pictures, to oversee development and production. In August 2010, with the Paramount partnership and an equity investment by Ellison's father and Oracle Corporation co-founder and chairman Larry Ellison, who was then the sixth richest person in the world, Skydance raised $350 million in equity and credit to co-finance its films. On October 25, 2011, Skydance tried to sign its own first production client with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci of K/O Paper Products, but the deal never materialized.
On May 1, 2013, Skydance launched Skydance Television hiring Marcy Ross as division president. In 2014, Jesse Sisgold joined Skydance as President of Business Affairs & Strategic Planning and later that year was upped to Chief Operating Officer. Again he was promoted in 2017 to President & COO. In March 2014, Don Granger joined the company as the EVP of Feature Productions, a newly created position; he reports to Dana Goldberg who is the company's chief creative officer. In March 2015, Anne Globe joined the company as chief marketing officer. Later in the same year, Skydance raised $700 million in new financing. The refinancing included $200 million in equity from a group of investors, and a $500 million line of credit from J.P. Morgan Chase. Skydance renewed its slate deal with Paramount in the summer of 2013 for four more years.
On May 3, 2016, Skydance launched the Skydance Interactive division last year following the acquisition of The Workshop Entertainment and announced in January 2017 for a new VR story-driven game titled Archangel. Skydance also created a production label named Uncharted in December 2016 to house content which falls outside of the action, sci-fi, or fantasy genres. On March 16, 2017, Skydance launched the Skydance Animation division by forming a multi-year partnership with Madrid-based Ilion Animation Studios. In August 2017, Skydance and Paramount renewed their slate deal for another four years to 2021, with the addition of Skydance's animated films for distribution. On January 25, 2018, Tencent bought a 5% to 10% minority stake. Jun Oh was hired by Skydance Media as head of theatrical, interactive and legal affairs in October 2018. In February 2020, RedBird Capital Partners and CJ ENM invested in the company. In April 2020, Skydance Media has named veteran entertainment executive Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon to the newly created post of general counsel.
On October 20, 2021, Skydance tapped veteran producer Jon Weinbach to lead a new sports division called Skydance Sports, a new unit will develop scripted and unscripted sports-related content. In January 2022, Skydance formed a multi-year feature film deal with Apple TV+, ending its deal with Paramount. However, Skydance continued working with Paramount on franchises including Mission: Impossible, Star Trek, Top Gun, Terminator, Jack Ryan, Transformers, and G.I. Joe. On October 13, 2022, Skydance completed a $400 million strategic investment round which was led by KKR, a first-time investor, and joined by the Ellison family who are majority shareholders. By April 13, 2023, Skydance Media backs a new venture from country star Tim McGraw based in Nashville called "Down Home" with two scripted series in development along with plans on features and animation to follow. On July 7, Skydance brought a new $1 billion credit facility, giving the film and TV studio enhanced flexibility to invest in its business lines.
